Hansel and Gretel, The Little brother and The Little Sister [drama review]

Bush, Max. Plays For Young Audiences featuring The Emerald Circle and other plays by Max Bush. Meriwether Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1- 56608-0118. $16.95. Varies 1-7 Reviewed by Nancy Hovasse Hansel and Gretel, The Little Brother and The Little Sister B 1+ Closely adapted from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, The Little Brother and The Little Sister tells the classic tale in frightening detail. Hansel and Gretel act in concert to create a single protagonist, as they battle the obvious dangers of children living in an impoverished home and the invisible dangers of child abuse and neglect. Overhearing their parents’ plan to abandon them in the forest because they can no longer afford to feed them, Hansel creates a clever plan to help them find their way home. Because he is successful in his plan, the children’s mother schemes a second time to trick them into the forest. Not quick enough to divert her plan, the children find themselves alone and hungry in the depths of the dark woods. Befriended by a strange white bird, the children are led to a house made of cookies and candy inhabited by an old witch. The witch plans to fatten the children up and eat them herself. In the end, the children trick the witch, reunite with their father, and learn that their evil mother has recently died. Although true to the original, Bush’s play ends too quickly. The symbolism of the white bird is never fully explored. Neither is the possibility (as it is minimally suggested) that the children’s encounter with the witch and her cookie house was a shared dream or hallucination that reflects their relationship with their own mother. Although clearly drawn from the original tale, the action of the parents in the play is despicable, and contemporary audiences not familiar with the entire Grimm’s tale may be disturbed by the blatant child abuse presented in a play for young audiences. The play requires a minimum of five actors, with some doubling. Production elements can be either simple or elaborate, allowing the show to be produced at a level fitting a company’s budget. The play may be frightening to very small children, but clearly those familiar with the classic tale will enjoy this literal adaptation. Approximate running time is fifty-five minutes.

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Bush, Max. Plays For Young Audiences featuring The Emerald Circle and other plays by Max Bush. Meriwether Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1- 56608-0118. $16.95. Varies 1-7 Reviewed by Nancy Hovasse Hansel and Gretel, The Little Brother and The Little Sister B 1+ Closely adapted from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, Hansel and Gretel, The Little Brother and The Little Sister tells the classic tale in frightening detail. Hansel and Gretel act in concert to create a single protagonist, as they battle the obvious dangers of children living in an impoverished home and the invisible dangers of child abuse and neglect. Overhearing their parents’ plan to abandon them in the forest because they can no longer afford to feed them, Hansel creates a clever plan to help them find their way home. Because he is successful in his plan, the children’s mother schemes a second time to trick them into the forest. Not quick enough to divert her plan, the children find themselves alone and hungry in the depths of the dark woods. Befriended by a strange white bird, the children are led to a house made of cookies and candy inhabited by an old witch. The witch plans to fatten the children up and eat them herself. In the end, the children trick the witch, reunite with their father, and learn that their evil mother has recently died. Although true to the original, Bush’s play ends too quickly. The symbolism of the white bird is never fully explored. Neither is the possibility (as it is minimally suggested) that the children’s encounter with the witch and her cookie house was a shared dream or hallucination that reflects their relationship with their own mother. Although clearly drawn from the original tale, the action of the parents in the play is despicable, and contemporary audiences not familiar with the entire Grimm’s tale may be disturbed by the blatant child abuse presented in a play for young audiences. The play requires a minimum of five actors, with some doubling. Production elements can be either simple or elaborate, allowing the show to be produced at a level fitting a company’s budget. The play may be frightening to very small children, but clearly those familiar with the classic tale will enjoy this literal adaptation. Approximate running time is fifty-five minutes.

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